Men's Golf | 6/8/2015 1:21:00 PM
ABILENE – Abilene Christian University men's golf coach
Tom Shaw announced Monday that the university has received a six-figure financial commitment from the Byron Nelson Foundation to be used in the men's golf program.
The gift will be spread out over the next five years and help push ACU's operating budget in men's golf to the top of the Southland Conference. The foundation was established by Nelson to allow his charitable giving to continue to his favorite charities following his death. He passed away in 2006 at the age of 94.
Nelson helped push the ACU men's golf program to new heights in 1983 when he headlined a fundraiser in Dallas to launch the Byron and Louise Nelson Golf Endowment, a fund he continued to support with his appearance at the school's annual Byron Nelson Golf Tournament each fall.
Nelson was a longtime supporter and friend of ACU's golf program and the university itself. After Nelson's retirement from the PGA, he became a member of ACU's Board of Trustees (1965-74) and National Development Council (elected in 1963). His brother, Dr. Charles Nelson, is professor emeritus of music at ACU.
Nelson became directly involved with the ACU golf program in May 1984 when ACU hosted a fundraising event in Dallas honoring him. The dinner raised more than $400,000 to permanently endow the ACU men's golf program. This most recent gift to the program will be the largest since that initial fundraising effort.
"This is an historic commitment to the ACU golf program," Shaw said. "For the last 30 years, Byron Nelson played an instrumental role in the golf program's development, from the establishment of the endowment fund to welcoming past teams to his home for dinner, endearingly referring to the ACU golfers as 'my boys.'
"Peggy Nelson and (former ACU golfer and longtime Nelson friend and business associate) Jon Bradley of the Nelson Foundation share my vision for what the ACU golf program can become," Shaw said. "They also believe strongly in our efforts to provide the ACU experience to young men who exhibit the class and character that personified Mr. Nelson. I am humbled by this gift, and, with it, we will begin to level the playing field and put ACU men's golf on the path to conference and national championships."
Bradley – inducted into the ACU Sports Hall of Fame in May 2005 – said the foundation is honored to continue its association with the ACU golf team.
"Byron Nelson was a great Christian man first and a record-setting golfer second," Bradley said. "ACU is a special place for developing young Christian men and women, and we hope the foundation's contribution will help develop the golf team into a record-setting NCAA Division I program."
As a player, Nelson is best known for his PGA-record 11 straight tournament victories in 1945. No players has come close to matching that record in the last 61 years, although Tiger Woods did win six straight tournaments in 2001. Nelson holds PGA records for most victories in a season (18 in 1945), most consecutive rounds under 70 (19 in 1945), and most consecutive cuts made (113). He held the record for lowest scoring average in one season (68.33 in 1945) for 55 year until Tiger Woods broke the mark in 2000.
Nelson won major championships in 1937 (Masters), 1939 (U.S. Open), 1940 (PGA Championship), 1942 (Masters) and 1945 (PGA Championship). Besides his five major championships, Nelson was also the runner-up at the 1946 U.S. Open, 1941 Masters, 1947 Masters, and 1939, 1941 and 1944 PGA Championships. He was a member of U.S. Ryder Cup teams in 1937, 1939 and 1947, and was the non-playing captain in 1965.
He was elected to the PGA Hall of Fame in 1953, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1955 and the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.
